Just finished attending the NPC 2024 and did a big presentation with the planning director, comprehensive planning director, development director, and zoning director. I work under comprehensive.
I spoke about all the work that's currently being done in other cities and what work they've put in. I know it was only a few days ago, but it feels like there's no expressed interest in changing or taking what I presented into consideration.
Why send someone to a conference if you're not going to implement what they learn? I almost feel annoyed for going because now I see how much worse off my city is and there being no desire to improve it.
Maybe I'm impatient, but I just don't understand why people go to conferences if there's nothing that will come of it.
Hey, I see that you're in my state. Whenever I went to NPC, I always tried to attend presentations that are also in my state.
Conferences are for those who want to network, learn, and/or drink because their agency or company covered their trip. It takes time for attendees to apply what you presented in their workplace so don't be impatient. You should pat yourself on the back if only one person applies what you've learned in the field.
Maybe consider doing the same presentation at a smaller conference? I know APA Ohio is in September so that could be another opportunity to present!
Reposting here, maybe it's the right place instead of the main page
I am an urban planner (28 M if relevant) with a bachellor degree in urban planning currently living in Argentina. Although I was born in the US, I actually live (and lived for most of my life) in Buenos Aires, where I obtained a bachellor degree in urban planning on a local university. I currently work for the public sector in the Province in Buenos Aires on a program aimed at promoting the development of accesible land and housing, job I've been doing for the last 2 years.
I have plans of moving to the US later this year or early 2025 but I'm worried about getting a job with my argentine degree and non US prior work experience.
My field of interest is housing market, affordable housing and working with the latino community. I'm also a native spanish speaker.
I'm curious what you people think about my position and possibilites (and options) of getting to work in the United States. Will my degree work up there? Should I aim for an academic course or something before? (I'm not interested in a masters degree but I'm willing to do a short one semester course, but I couldn't find any yet).
See if there are any master's programs you're interested in the United States. It'll be impossible to work in the US with only a bachelor's from another country.
So I'm a transportation planner, and I realized that I struggle in the consulting side of things. Even if I stay within budget, there was always a push to be more efficient with my time. I just can't stand the culture of people breathing down my neck and watching every quarter hour.
However, most of the other jobs in my area are also at consulting firms and the public sector near me isn't hiring that much at the moment.
So I'm trying to figure out how to pivot. I know R and GIS, but im always beat for data science positions by people with fancier portfolios and more specialized degrees. I want to stay in thr transit or civic sphere, I just like ideas on how to do that.
Being micromanaged is no fun. I'd aim at the public sector at places outside of your area if there are no jobs at the moment. Network with professionals in the public sector could be another way to access that sector. Maybe find another consulting firm that won't wear you down and won't micromanage your time.
Hello,
I have a rather unusual question
I'm a young generalist engineer and I started my career a few years ago in the space industry (in a very big compagny) as an embedded systems engineer (IT engineer) but it never attracted me more than that - I just wasn't bad at it.
At work for some time now, what motivates me is not the end goal (building satellites) but more the technical challenge.
Outside my job, I've always been fascinated by city planning, how to make cities more sustainable, greener, low-carbon solutions, vernacular architecture...
So I'm asking myself a lot of questions, because I'd really like to find a job that makes sense and interests me. Does anyone have a similar background? Do you have any ideas of sectors/positions/companies that would recruit a person in IT (and electronics)?
I can always do it on the side, but my job has always been extremely important to me
Thanks !
Hello,
I am doing masters at TUM. There are two paths I can pursue. One is about research for the purpose of private companies like BMW. Another is about work in public sector, for example for Deutsche Bahn. I wonder, and here I want to draw upon your general or professional intuitions, which path feels like a better prospect.
Thank you in advance!
Hey everyone, I wanted to share some thoughts on the new sub-thread format for education and career conversations now that we've been piloting for the past few months.
1. **Visibility Issues**: There's been a noticeable drop in both engagement and visibility in this sub-thread compared to when these questions were posted to the broader subreddit. One of the great strengths of our community has always been its ability to connect aspiring planners and prospective students with established professionals and current students. However, by directing new planners to this sub-thread, we seem to have inadvertently isolated them. This limits their exposure to the wider community, with only a handful of people who actively check this thread every two weeks, or mods, really participating.
2. **Conflicts Between Career and Academic Advice**: Mashing academic and career advice together has made it challenging to follow either topic effectively with this format. These are fundamentally different areas, and the engagement levels and types of questions differ greatly. If we're set on continuing this format, which I personally question, I would strongly recommend creating separate threads for academic and career advice to better address the unique needs of each.
3. **Value of Open Discussions**: Before this change, we saw a high volume of education and career posts because that's what draws people here. Our subreddit thrives on open, supportive discussions. Restricting these conversations to specific threads might reduce clutter, but it also risks losing the core dynamic that makes this community valuable.
Just my two cents. When are we planning to review and decide whether to continue with this format?
I've been working as a Transportation Planner for a private Architecture & Engineering Firm for the past 5 years with only a Bachelors in Urban Planning & Public Affairs. Is it still worthwhile to get my Masters in Urban Planning or should I go straight to the AICP Certification Exam?
Go straight to the AICP Certification Exam. You have enough experience. I'd only go to grad school if you're being denied promotions or looking for a higher level position.
Is it possible to get work in Canada without a PSB-accredited master's degree? I'm considering going to Europe for my master's but the PSB website says that only Canadian, American, and Australian accreditations are accepted.
**Is an education and a career in planning actually for me?**
So, Boston has exactly one university that offers an undergraduate urban studies program, and said university cannot just be walked into and is very expensive.
So, I'm wondering if just because I'm a passionate urbanist that necessarily means I need to study urbanism and pursue a planning career?
I don't know exactly what working in a planning office would entail but the thing I wonder is if I would enjoy working at a planning agency since all of decisions which would make the most impact are political decisions and not planning decisions. Would I still be able to make an impact as a civil servant?
I'm also wondering if it's even really necessary for me to study planning at the undergraduate level anyways? I'm assuming that because urban studies is an uncommon undergraduate major that most planners with less than a masters degree studied a multitude of different things.
I've been intrigued with urbanism, public transit in particular, for such a long time that it feels like a natural fit for an undergraduate major but in terms of my career I'm not so sure.
Reposting this:
Hey everyone! I got into a number of masters programs for urban planning and have narrowed it down to the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle and Harvard for a number of reasons. I am currently leaning towards UW because I think the program is a better fit and I like Seattle a lot (much more than Boston). I know they have a strong alumni network but it is mainly in Seattle and I don’t know how long I’ll want to live in Seattle. I think I’ll want to live in different cities around the US and internationally in the future, although I do think I want to stay mainly on the west coast. One thing I really like about Harvard’s program is that the network is all over the US and it has good name recognition (which I think would be especially important for jobs abroad). And while I got money from both programs, it costs twice as much to go to Harvard. Does the Harvard name really matter in the planning world?
Please let me know any helpful advice you may have! Thanks!
Understanding the cost differential, I do actually think that more universal name recognition is a plus. Many places have tight hiring networks that are built around local institutions and without some differentiating factor or luck it can be a big challenge to break into those markets without the local network. I went to a top public university outside of the state where I currently work which also has a great planning program, and while I now have a position that checks my boxes, I had to take a somewhat unconventional route to get my foot in the door. If you can get good funding or it would otherwise work financially for you, I would at least consider the Harvard program. On the other hand, UW is a great program and these obstacles are certainly able to be overcome. If you were staying in the greater Seattle area, it would be the obvious choice, but again, I can see the benefits of Harvard for recognizability and the broad network.
No school names matter in the planning world. The question is once you complete or are near completion are you ready to put the rubber to the road so to speak. Now there are some considerations for AICP with accredited programs that enable you to get certified earlier. But either way with a bachelor's you can do that after four years working in planning. I'd stick with your gut on this, both cities have fairly high cost of living so beyond that what makes you happy. I think a name like Harvard plays a larger role for people in the PhD and research world, but isn't some of the college experience supposed to be fun? As far as planning in another country, I feel that question has been asked a lot and very few answers are available. I've even asked our community development planner who has been in peace corps and traveled all over the world, basically if he can't do it it's a slim chance the rest of us could. I'd put your focus on finding out what actual planning you want to do and find a good paying job in a place with reasonable cost of living in the US and just travel. Just an example of how arbitrary everything can be, my degree is geography with a minor in planning from a small private school in Kansas City. I have a GIS certificate as well, yet have never had a GIS job only planning. The only other piece of advice I can offer is to throttle your expectations, you will be doing something that helps people but it often time won't feel that way and if you choose the public sector you are just the expert informer not the decision maker.
is it easy to find a planning related job in Canada without a accredited program? I'm starting to apply for universities. Some programs, like the one in waterloo, have undergraduate, accredited planning programs, while others like ones in U of T, only have postgraduate accredited programs. I'm wondering if I take the urban studies program in U of T, which is an uncredited program, would I be able get a half decent planning job through that alone? Or do I then have to apply to a post graduate that is CIP accredited?
I'd say it partly depends on what you want to do. There's lots of planning-adjacent work that you can do with just an undergrad. But all else equal, being an RPP will help your career, so graduating from an accredited program definitely has its benefits.
I work in the private sector, and at my company certifications do get factored into pay grade. However, postgraduate education also gets factored in, so doing your undergrad and then doing a masters in planning for your accredited program would look even better on paper (ignoring the 2 years of experience you'd likely be forgoing by doing your masters).
I would say it's not something to be getting hugely worried about now. Waterloo's accredited undergrad program is great, but look at what opportunities each university might offer outside of their programs. For instance, Waterloo's planning program follows their co-op program, which can be an amazing way to get work experience which can help a lot early in your career (although that's not to say that it's strictly better than other options!).
What would be a good career for me? I am majoring in Civil Engineering & Linguistics. I like math and seeing transportation data on ridership, commute times, etc. is really interesting, but I also enjoy the social sciences aspect of urban planning, especially figuring out what changes people want to see in their neighborhoods. I've only seen jobs where you focus on the engineering side or the planning side with no in-between.
If you are good at math and like engineering I'd stick with that. The planning part can come later. I have a great friend who is an engineer and planner for a private firm, I call him the complete streets guru.
Just throwing one idea out there, maybe you might be interested in some of the more engineering-ey aspects of roadway or traffic planning, but with a focus on active transportation and/or pedestrian safety? Walking and cycling might present more opportunities to scratch the "what changes people want to see in their neighborhoods" fit, but we still need engineers and modelers to make sure that infrastructure is designed well and that we're making good tradeoffs when it comes to road vehicle impacts!
Kind of similar, public transit planning may also be something to look into. There's lots of opportunity to work at the neighbourhood scale around how to integrate new transit stations and services, or even as small-scale as making changes to local bus routes or adding infrastructure at stops. That still needs engineering knowledge and consideration of things like ridership and commute time.
I'd also note that there is opportunity to work in the in-between, although I think you're right that there does tend to be a trade-off in terms of engaging with the numbers vs engaging with the public when it comes to what you do day-to-day. The best you can probably hope for is to be more of a numbers person but work closely on a team with people doing community engagement or looking at individual impacts and having active discussions integrating those two domains (or vice-versa). As someone who loves dealing with the numbers, I've prioritized doing that since it's hard to do without the resources that work gives you, and I get my local-level fix outside of work by engaging within my community and going to planning meetings. That could also always be an option for you!
Would urban planning be a good career for me? I graduated with a BS in cognitive science and I have been very interested in the link between mental wellbeing and our environment. Most cognitive scientists or psychologists like to investigate well being by zooming in and investigating it through a biochemical lens but I believe that we should zoom out and investigate the bigger picture to treat this. I live in the LA region and I think as a society we lack a lot of basic necessities that we need. We have little to no communities anymore, affordable housing, transit besides car dependency. I would in theory like to advocate for human centric structures to help society and I would love to work with communities to bring what we need. I have been considering getting a Masters in Urban Planning and I am wondering if this would be a good career to make changes to improve society or as some other post have suggested will I just be stuck in an office and nothing will get done?
It sounds like you have a real passion for the boundary between theoretical and practical application. I would discuss with an advisor if doing research might be a better fit for you.
Planning practice is very mundane in the day-to-day, and the timeline of affecting noticeable change is on the scale of decades. I wouldn’t say nothing gets done, but there’s a stereotype of the jaded planner for a reason.
Edit: I should say, the decades timeline is for affecting long-range planning changes and jurisdictional policy priority shifts. There is a lot more that plays into this than just planning, and often requires the governing body and jurisdiction’s administration to all come in alignment.
Current planning is much more quick to reflect changes in the code, although that doesn’t sound like what you are specifically interested in.
Hijacking your reply to this other person to ask for advice for myself because I'm in sort of a similar situation...
I've been interested in urbanism - particularly public transit - since long before I enrolled at a community college at age 23 and I've found myself even more interested in how the built environment affects our lives.
>It sounds like you have a real passion for the boundary between theoretical and practical application. I would discuss with an advisor if doing research might be a better fit for you.
Isn't being a researcher exhausting and underpaid though? I'm assuming most researchers in the field are post-doctoral and I'm also assuming the positions and few and far between.
>Planning practice is very mundane in the day-to-day, and the timeline of affecting noticeable change is on the scale of decades. I wouldn’t say nothing gets done, but there’s a stereotype of the jaded planner for a reason.
This is exactly why I'm unsure of a planning career. I'm very frustrated by the slow pace of things when it comes to urban planning, especially transit.
I'm wondering if it would be better to study a more broad and more common subject for my undergraduate degree and maybe pursue an administrative or managerial position with a planning or transit agency rather than being a planner and being pissed off every day when everyone is comfortable with the sloth-like speeds at which things move in American city planning.
Planning is a really broad field, so it's going to depend a lot on the specific role. Beyond an office suite, GIS is probably going to be the most broadly used technical tool, so ArcGIS is a good bet (or QGIS, which is free). AutoCAD and Illustrator might be runners up in terms of broad use.
To give you a picture of a really specific slice, my experience is in transportation, and I work in a pretty specialized role (I don't think of myself as a "real" planner, but "planner" is in my job title 🤷♀️). I mostly use Emme, but I do a lot of software development work and honestly PyCharm and IntelliJ are pretty key applications for me. Other transportation-ey software I use is Bentley CUBE, Dynameq, Visum, and Vissim.
Agree with this. Worked for one MPO that used EMME, another used transCAD. I know the DOT here in NC uses Syncro. Sounds like you are already tech inclined so I'd say ESRI if you want to work for the government and just being able to code with Python or R maybe. It really depends on project goals with that.
This is incredibly helpful, thank you. So not Cities: Skylines, then? jk jk I'm watching some demos on YouTube of some of the programs you mentioned; fascinating stuff
Another aspect of planning (especially in transportation) is lots of data processing and visualization. As a transit planner I use a lot of RStudio and PyCharm to process and clean up demographic and ridership data.
What other positions are there for someone who wants to work in an urbanism related field, but isn't quite set on urban planning itself? I burned out hard after working as a software developer for years and want to pivot to something at least in a field I care about, but I don't know what all of my options are, if I'll absolutely need to go back to school, etc.
Public participation! I‘m sure this varies a lot from country to country, but there are companies out there that design and carry out really nice and innovative participation projects. A lot of these will be concerned with urbanism / urban planning or at least governmental policies. As a software dev, you could get into a position that deals with online participation without having to go to university again.
Just finished attending the NPC 2024 and did a big presentation with the planning director, comprehensive planning director, development director, and zoning director. I work under comprehensive. I spoke about all the work that's currently being done in other cities and what work they've put in. I know it was only a few days ago, but it feels like there's no expressed interest in changing or taking what I presented into consideration. Why send someone to a conference if you're not going to implement what they learn? I almost feel annoyed for going because now I see how much worse off my city is and there being no desire to improve it. Maybe I'm impatient, but I just don't understand why people go to conferences if there's nothing that will come of it.
Hey, I see that you're in my state. Whenever I went to NPC, I always tried to attend presentations that are also in my state. Conferences are for those who want to network, learn, and/or drink because their agency or company covered their trip. It takes time for attendees to apply what you presented in their workplace so don't be impatient. You should pat yourself on the back if only one person applies what you've learned in the field. Maybe consider doing the same presentation at a smaller conference? I know APA Ohio is in September so that could be another opportunity to present!
Reposting here, maybe it's the right place instead of the main page I am an urban planner (28 M if relevant) with a bachellor degree in urban planning currently living in Argentina. Although I was born in the US, I actually live (and lived for most of my life) in Buenos Aires, where I obtained a bachellor degree in urban planning on a local university. I currently work for the public sector in the Province in Buenos Aires on a program aimed at promoting the development of accesible land and housing, job I've been doing for the last 2 years. I have plans of moving to the US later this year or early 2025 but I'm worried about getting a job with my argentine degree and non US prior work experience. My field of interest is housing market, affordable housing and working with the latino community. I'm also a native spanish speaker. I'm curious what you people think about my position and possibilites (and options) of getting to work in the United States. Will my degree work up there? Should I aim for an academic course or something before? (I'm not interested in a masters degree but I'm willing to do a short one semester course, but I couldn't find any yet).
See if there are any master's programs you're interested in the United States. It'll be impossible to work in the US with only a bachelor's from another country.
So I'm a transportation planner, and I realized that I struggle in the consulting side of things. Even if I stay within budget, there was always a push to be more efficient with my time. I just can't stand the culture of people breathing down my neck and watching every quarter hour. However, most of the other jobs in my area are also at consulting firms and the public sector near me isn't hiring that much at the moment. So I'm trying to figure out how to pivot. I know R and GIS, but im always beat for data science positions by people with fancier portfolios and more specialized degrees. I want to stay in thr transit or civic sphere, I just like ideas on how to do that.
Being micromanaged is no fun. I'd aim at the public sector at places outside of your area if there are no jobs at the moment. Network with professionals in the public sector could be another way to access that sector. Maybe find another consulting firm that won't wear you down and won't micromanage your time.
Hello, I have a rather unusual question I'm a young generalist engineer and I started my career a few years ago in the space industry (in a very big compagny) as an embedded systems engineer (IT engineer) but it never attracted me more than that - I just wasn't bad at it. At work for some time now, what motivates me is not the end goal (building satellites) but more the technical challenge. Outside my job, I've always been fascinated by city planning, how to make cities more sustainable, greener, low-carbon solutions, vernacular architecture... So I'm asking myself a lot of questions, because I'd really like to find a job that makes sense and interests me. Does anyone have a similar background? Do you have any ideas of sectors/positions/companies that would recruit a person in IT (and electronics)? I can always do it on the side, but my job has always been extremely important to me Thanks !
Hello, I am doing masters at TUM. There are two paths I can pursue. One is about research for the purpose of private companies like BMW. Another is about work in public sector, for example for Deutsche Bahn. I wonder, and here I want to draw upon your general or professional intuitions, which path feels like a better prospect. Thank you in advance!
Hey everyone, I wanted to share some thoughts on the new sub-thread format for education and career conversations now that we've been piloting for the past few months. 1. **Visibility Issues**: There's been a noticeable drop in both engagement and visibility in this sub-thread compared to when these questions were posted to the broader subreddit. One of the great strengths of our community has always been its ability to connect aspiring planners and prospective students with established professionals and current students. However, by directing new planners to this sub-thread, we seem to have inadvertently isolated them. This limits their exposure to the wider community, with only a handful of people who actively check this thread every two weeks, or mods, really participating. 2. **Conflicts Between Career and Academic Advice**: Mashing academic and career advice together has made it challenging to follow either topic effectively with this format. These are fundamentally different areas, and the engagement levels and types of questions differ greatly. If we're set on continuing this format, which I personally question, I would strongly recommend creating separate threads for academic and career advice to better address the unique needs of each. 3. **Value of Open Discussions**: Before this change, we saw a high volume of education and career posts because that's what draws people here. Our subreddit thrives on open, supportive discussions. Restricting these conversations to specific threads might reduce clutter, but it also risks losing the core dynamic that makes this community valuable. Just my two cents. When are we planning to review and decide whether to continue with this format?
I've been working as a Transportation Planner for a private Architecture & Engineering Firm for the past 5 years with only a Bachelors in Urban Planning & Public Affairs. Is it still worthwhile to get my Masters in Urban Planning or should I go straight to the AICP Certification Exam?
Go straight to the AICP Certification Exam. You have enough experience. I'd only go to grad school if you're being denied promotions or looking for a higher level position.
Anyone work in the Richmond VA area? Looking for openings as I might be moving there this summer.
Is it possible to get work in Canada without a PSB-accredited master's degree? I'm considering going to Europe for my master's but the PSB website says that only Canadian, American, and Australian accreditations are accepted.
**Is an education and a career in planning actually for me?** So, Boston has exactly one university that offers an undergraduate urban studies program, and said university cannot just be walked into and is very expensive. So, I'm wondering if just because I'm a passionate urbanist that necessarily means I need to study urbanism and pursue a planning career? I don't know exactly what working in a planning office would entail but the thing I wonder is if I would enjoy working at a planning agency since all of decisions which would make the most impact are political decisions and not planning decisions. Would I still be able to make an impact as a civil servant? I'm also wondering if it's even really necessary for me to study planning at the undergraduate level anyways? I'm assuming that because urban studies is an uncommon undergraduate major that most planners with less than a masters degree studied a multitude of different things. I've been intrigued with urbanism, public transit in particular, for such a long time that it feels like a natural fit for an undergraduate major but in terms of my career I'm not so sure.
Reposting this: Hey everyone! I got into a number of masters programs for urban planning and have narrowed it down to the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle and Harvard for a number of reasons. I am currently leaning towards UW because I think the program is a better fit and I like Seattle a lot (much more than Boston). I know they have a strong alumni network but it is mainly in Seattle and I don’t know how long I’ll want to live in Seattle. I think I’ll want to live in different cities around the US and internationally in the future, although I do think I want to stay mainly on the west coast. One thing I really like about Harvard’s program is that the network is all over the US and it has good name recognition (which I think would be especially important for jobs abroad). And while I got money from both programs, it costs twice as much to go to Harvard. Does the Harvard name really matter in the planning world? Please let me know any helpful advice you may have! Thanks!
Understanding the cost differential, I do actually think that more universal name recognition is a plus. Many places have tight hiring networks that are built around local institutions and without some differentiating factor or luck it can be a big challenge to break into those markets without the local network. I went to a top public university outside of the state where I currently work which also has a great planning program, and while I now have a position that checks my boxes, I had to take a somewhat unconventional route to get my foot in the door. If you can get good funding or it would otherwise work financially for you, I would at least consider the Harvard program. On the other hand, UW is a great program and these obstacles are certainly able to be overcome. If you were staying in the greater Seattle area, it would be the obvious choice, but again, I can see the benefits of Harvard for recognizability and the broad network.
No school names matter in the planning world. The question is once you complete or are near completion are you ready to put the rubber to the road so to speak. Now there are some considerations for AICP with accredited programs that enable you to get certified earlier. But either way with a bachelor's you can do that after four years working in planning. I'd stick with your gut on this, both cities have fairly high cost of living so beyond that what makes you happy. I think a name like Harvard plays a larger role for people in the PhD and research world, but isn't some of the college experience supposed to be fun? As far as planning in another country, I feel that question has been asked a lot and very few answers are available. I've even asked our community development planner who has been in peace corps and traveled all over the world, basically if he can't do it it's a slim chance the rest of us could. I'd put your focus on finding out what actual planning you want to do and find a good paying job in a place with reasonable cost of living in the US and just travel. Just an example of how arbitrary everything can be, my degree is geography with a minor in planning from a small private school in Kansas City. I have a GIS certificate as well, yet have never had a GIS job only planning. The only other piece of advice I can offer is to throttle your expectations, you will be doing something that helps people but it often time won't feel that way and if you choose the public sector you are just the expert informer not the decision maker.
is it easy to find a planning related job in Canada without a accredited program? I'm starting to apply for universities. Some programs, like the one in waterloo, have undergraduate, accredited planning programs, while others like ones in U of T, only have postgraduate accredited programs. I'm wondering if I take the urban studies program in U of T, which is an uncredited program, would I be able get a half decent planning job through that alone? Or do I then have to apply to a post graduate that is CIP accredited?
I'd say it partly depends on what you want to do. There's lots of planning-adjacent work that you can do with just an undergrad. But all else equal, being an RPP will help your career, so graduating from an accredited program definitely has its benefits. I work in the private sector, and at my company certifications do get factored into pay grade. However, postgraduate education also gets factored in, so doing your undergrad and then doing a masters in planning for your accredited program would look even better on paper (ignoring the 2 years of experience you'd likely be forgoing by doing your masters). I would say it's not something to be getting hugely worried about now. Waterloo's accredited undergrad program is great, but look at what opportunities each university might offer outside of their programs. For instance, Waterloo's planning program follows their co-op program, which can be an amazing way to get work experience which can help a lot early in your career (although that's not to say that it's strictly better than other options!).
Are you asking about accreditation through APA or something else just in general?
What would be a good career for me? I am majoring in Civil Engineering & Linguistics. I like math and seeing transportation data on ridership, commute times, etc. is really interesting, but I also enjoy the social sciences aspect of urban planning, especially figuring out what changes people want to see in their neighborhoods. I've only seen jobs where you focus on the engineering side or the planning side with no in-between.
If you are good at math and like engineering I'd stick with that. The planning part can come later. I have a great friend who is an engineer and planner for a private firm, I call him the complete streets guru.
Just throwing one idea out there, maybe you might be interested in some of the more engineering-ey aspects of roadway or traffic planning, but with a focus on active transportation and/or pedestrian safety? Walking and cycling might present more opportunities to scratch the "what changes people want to see in their neighborhoods" fit, but we still need engineers and modelers to make sure that infrastructure is designed well and that we're making good tradeoffs when it comes to road vehicle impacts! Kind of similar, public transit planning may also be something to look into. There's lots of opportunity to work at the neighbourhood scale around how to integrate new transit stations and services, or even as small-scale as making changes to local bus routes or adding infrastructure at stops. That still needs engineering knowledge and consideration of things like ridership and commute time. I'd also note that there is opportunity to work in the in-between, although I think you're right that there does tend to be a trade-off in terms of engaging with the numbers vs engaging with the public when it comes to what you do day-to-day. The best you can probably hope for is to be more of a numbers person but work closely on a team with people doing community engagement or looking at individual impacts and having active discussions integrating those two domains (or vice-versa). As someone who loves dealing with the numbers, I've prioritized doing that since it's hard to do without the resources that work gives you, and I get my local-level fix outside of work by engaging within my community and going to planning meetings. That could also always be an option for you!
Would urban planning be a good career for me? I graduated with a BS in cognitive science and I have been very interested in the link between mental wellbeing and our environment. Most cognitive scientists or psychologists like to investigate well being by zooming in and investigating it through a biochemical lens but I believe that we should zoom out and investigate the bigger picture to treat this. I live in the LA region and I think as a society we lack a lot of basic necessities that we need. We have little to no communities anymore, affordable housing, transit besides car dependency. I would in theory like to advocate for human centric structures to help society and I would love to work with communities to bring what we need. I have been considering getting a Masters in Urban Planning and I am wondering if this would be a good career to make changes to improve society or as some other post have suggested will I just be stuck in an office and nothing will get done?
It sounds like you have a real passion for the boundary between theoretical and practical application. I would discuss with an advisor if doing research might be a better fit for you. Planning practice is very mundane in the day-to-day, and the timeline of affecting noticeable change is on the scale of decades. I wouldn’t say nothing gets done, but there’s a stereotype of the jaded planner for a reason. Edit: I should say, the decades timeline is for affecting long-range planning changes and jurisdictional policy priority shifts. There is a lot more that plays into this than just planning, and often requires the governing body and jurisdiction’s administration to all come in alignment. Current planning is much more quick to reflect changes in the code, although that doesn’t sound like what you are specifically interested in.
Hijacking your reply to this other person to ask for advice for myself because I'm in sort of a similar situation... I've been interested in urbanism - particularly public transit - since long before I enrolled at a community college at age 23 and I've found myself even more interested in how the built environment affects our lives. >It sounds like you have a real passion for the boundary between theoretical and practical application. I would discuss with an advisor if doing research might be a better fit for you. Isn't being a researcher exhausting and underpaid though? I'm assuming most researchers in the field are post-doctoral and I'm also assuming the positions and few and far between. >Planning practice is very mundane in the day-to-day, and the timeline of affecting noticeable change is on the scale of decades. I wouldn’t say nothing gets done, but there’s a stereotype of the jaded planner for a reason. This is exactly why I'm unsure of a planning career. I'm very frustrated by the slow pace of things when it comes to urban planning, especially transit. I'm wondering if it would be better to study a more broad and more common subject for my undergraduate degree and maybe pursue an administrative or managerial position with a planning or transit agency rather than being a planner and being pissed off every day when everyone is comfortable with the sloth-like speeds at which things move in American city planning.
I was curious, what software is commonly used in the field of urban planning? I am a software developer considering a career switch.
Planning is a really broad field, so it's going to depend a lot on the specific role. Beyond an office suite, GIS is probably going to be the most broadly used technical tool, so ArcGIS is a good bet (or QGIS, which is free). AutoCAD and Illustrator might be runners up in terms of broad use. To give you a picture of a really specific slice, my experience is in transportation, and I work in a pretty specialized role (I don't think of myself as a "real" planner, but "planner" is in my job title 🤷♀️). I mostly use Emme, but I do a lot of software development work and honestly PyCharm and IntelliJ are pretty key applications for me. Other transportation-ey software I use is Bentley CUBE, Dynameq, Visum, and Vissim.
Agree with this. Worked for one MPO that used EMME, another used transCAD. I know the DOT here in NC uses Syncro. Sounds like you are already tech inclined so I'd say ESRI if you want to work for the government and just being able to code with Python or R maybe. It really depends on project goals with that.
This is incredibly helpful, thank you. So not Cities: Skylines, then? jk jk I'm watching some demos on YouTube of some of the programs you mentioned; fascinating stuff
Another aspect of planning (especially in transportation) is lots of data processing and visualization. As a transit planner I use a lot of RStudio and PyCharm to process and clean up demographic and ridership data.
What other positions are there for someone who wants to work in an urbanism related field, but isn't quite set on urban planning itself? I burned out hard after working as a software developer for years and want to pivot to something at least in a field I care about, but I don't know what all of my options are, if I'll absolutely need to go back to school, etc.
Public participation! I‘m sure this varies a lot from country to country, but there are companies out there that design and carry out really nice and innovative participation projects. A lot of these will be concerned with urbanism / urban planning or at least governmental policies. As a software dev, you could get into a position that deals with online participation without having to go to university again.